Kill Your Darlings
by Setsuna-cutey
Summary: The Metallix finale left the Crustaceans undefeated but also empty-handed. They want to resolve their battle with the Beetleborgs once and for all. Also featuring the Fortunes, Flabber and co, character bounding, surprises/twists and an actual end.
1. Tombs

**Tomb**

In their dark, musty tomb the Crustaceans rearranged the figurines on their table over and over again, plotting their final battle with the Beetleborgs, or so they hoped.

'We need cover,' Meganukus suggested, 'in case they summon Roboborg again. Perhaps here, the east? There's a lot of buildings there.'

'The east? Hah!' Horribelle screamed out. 'They'll still crush us with Roboborg by overthrowing the damn building!' With a rapid wave of her arm she wiped the board clean, the figurines hitting the ground one by one. She didn't bother to pick them up this time.

'Let's face it. They've got a huge advantage over us,' Nukus summarized. 'They have the sword, the coins and the axe.'

'We're left empty-handed and with nothing but bad ideas,' Horribelle added. 'Hours of tactical drills and what have we got? Let's see, Vilor mentioned a battle in the water near the lake. I said we should burn Hillhurst. Meganukus, you suggested that we kidnap Art Fortunes and make him draw for us. Which is still the best idea we have so far.'

'I'm actually beginning to miss our own cartoonist," Vilor said, while staring at the drawing table. For a fish, he seemed awfully melancholic.

'He was worthless,' spoke Nukus with heavy voice, 'the only advantage we have is that we _lack_ the cartoonist.' The trio laughed heartily.

'Perhaps it all comes down to a truce then, I don't even know why we are fighting these Beetlebrats anyway,' mumbled Vilor. Nukus and Horribelle raised their eyebrows.

'Have you gone soft too, Vilor?! Do you want to leave and go to prison as well, maybe?'

'He wants to pay a visit to his beloved cartoonist,' Horribelle laughed, nudging Nukus softly.

'Bring him a rasp baked into a lovely pink-sugared cake.'

'I'm sick of you two constantly mocking me,' Vilor cried out. 'And now that the cartoonist's gone, it's definitely gotten worse. Maybe I'll rebel, just like Horribelle did, and then you're stuck with no one but that treacherous mantis here.'

'Who are you calling treacherous, _fish man_?!' Horribelle pushed against his chest, provokingly. 'At least I stand up for myself. As you might recall, you got mega powers out of your own _stupidity _and _disobedience_. While I - Nukus most loyal aid - got _squad_! And yet here you stand before us, in your normal form, because you can't get mega anymore. And why is that? It's because you are nothing but an overgrown gold fish!'

'Would you two stop it already?!' Meganukus slammed on the table with his fist, intimidating his henchmen. 'What we need is a creative solution. Not a drawing, really. Something else, come on, we have to think here.'

'A _drawing_?!' Vilor repeated. 'You know what will happen if we fight these three in our current state? We get turned back into our drawings or dust!'

'As you may have forgotten, my fish-brained friend,' replied Nukus, irritated, 'we can't become drawings again. I destroyed the paper from which we three came forth.'

'He's not as stupid as you, Vilor,' hissed Horribelle.

'Oh yeah?!' Vilor seemed just about ready to slap her, if only Nukus wasn't eyeing him as if he was a sushi bar ready to be served as lunch. Vilor decided to stay as calm as he could and let out his frustration by stepping on the figurines on the ground. The purple Beetleborg's weapon got into his heel, leading him to scream out.

'Those are handcrafted by the cartoonist, you know,' Nukus remarked.

'And quite solid,' added Horribelle.

'Now, back to business - creative ideas.'

'I can disguise myself as a lady again,' suggested Horribelle.

Nukus smiled a bit. 'The last time you did that wasn't such a success.'

'Crush their alter egos when they least expect it,' thought Vilor. 'At school or elsewhere.'

'They always morph right on time anyway,' said Nukus. 'It's not handy and it is not an honourable thing for a warrior to do.'

'Suppose we find out what their actual lives are like and kidnap a family member?' said Vilor.

'Yeah, just like the last time we kidnapped Flabber and he escaped,' Nukus referred.

'We can try and bring something to life aside from drawings?' Horribelle stared at the toxic waste they had lately used to revive Les' creations with an extra boost. 'Maybe we can find other pictures, other things.'

'It should be our creator, Les. I can only imagine that Art would work as well, because we managed to use the coins which both of them created, for instance.'

'You are right, Nukus. There isn't much we can do,' sighed Horribelle. 'Come up with another plan, be defeated, run away.'

'Perhaps we have grown weak after all,' Nukus said. 'A frightening thought, especially if our enemies find that out.'

'No,' Horribelle replied. 'We care about life too much. It's special. It's better than being on paper, than being dead. Now that we have tasted it, we are even afraid to do dirty work. To get down into an _actual_ battle.'

'Good that you mention it, I was always surprised about how quickly you two would retreat from combat,' Vilor laughed. 'This explains a lot. You have grown soft, _sappy_!'

'You withdraw even quicker than us, Vilor!' Horribelle snapped.

'I think Horribelle's right, though,' Meganukus replied. 'Now that we got life, destruction feels odd. But we are designed to fight, to defeat, to conquer as ambitious warriors. Our design and the sensation of actually being alive have started to exclude one another.'

'Then the only thing we can do, is either perish or retreat,' Horribelle said, while Nukus put a hand on her arm to ease her. 'I don't think either is actually an option here.'

Vilor suddenly spoke up. 'I know what I'm going to do. And that's leave you two and this tomb! I've grown sick off it! Nukus, if you really need me, I'm going to stay, but frankly, the both of you have made it perfectly clear that you don't want me around, and that you've become accustomed to _losing_. I'm going to fight the Beetlebrats on my own. Vilor-Vilor-Vilor: a healthier combination than Nukus-Horribelle-Vilor, where I'm always the third wheel. I quit, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!'

'You are my henchman, you can't rebel! You are created by Les and I that way!'

'And so was Horribelle, but there's the catch. We have grown into autonomous characters. We are not artworks any longer. We were given life! Horribelle just explained it. We have choices, we have needs now. We have a free will.'

'That's the smartest thing he's said since… ever!' Horribelle laughed.

'I'm serious, you two. I'm leaving. I'll finish those brats on my own. Maybe somewhere in the process my mega powers return, maybe they won't. But I'm sick of it. I might even ask Les to join me. We'll be a better team than you two.'

Nukus and Horribelle laughed. 'All right then, go, we can really do without you,' Nukus commanded. 'And if you ever return here, you'll be turned into more than an icicle.'

Horribelle shivered, reminded of her rebelling against Nukus.

'It's not that recommendable, fishy!' she called out.

'Believe me, I'd rather perish in a good battle than stay here in a tomb, already dead! You can say all you want about living, but I'm pretty sure you two haven't gotten the hang of it two. By staying here we're already signing our death warrant. At least maybe I can get some dignity before ending up in a grave!' With a blue flash he left, leaving the two other Crustaceans behind.

'It sure has gotten quiet here,' Horribelle whispered.


	2. Talks

**Talks **

In jail Les Fortunes was having the time of his life designing stuff. He covered the floor and walls with new drawings, only to tear them apart later.

'No, wait, wait! I'll take a whole different approach! _Sexy_ villains! The ones you _want_ to come to life! Pretty women! Not like that backstabber, Horribelle!' With his tongue peeking through the corner of his mouth, he drew hastily. He had a private little cell because he apparently fell under some law about psychosocial criminals. He didn't really care to be labeled as a social deviant: he had his peace and quiet for once. Madness was the best productive force there was, he always thought, so being called slightly mad or getting a private cell because of that, well, that was just _flattery_. After all, no great artist was born _sane_. This also made him superior to Art, he believed, and to the bunch of other comic artists out there who still had more than half a brain.

'Or maybe I should draw evil pets. Or more robots, and then I'll smash my own characters forever!' But that felt a bit odd. He didn't really want to smash Nukus, despite all the harassing, he'd spent years developing the guy. Basically, Nukus was one of his oldest characters even, so destroying him was odd.

'Man, he guards the second dimension! He's the lord of 2-d visualizations! All I can do is put him of his socket a bit, get a new lord. But would I want that? Someone more terrifying than Nukus?! Someone who'll harass me even more?! It'll be that stupid, toxic, mutated monster all over again. Or that damn _egg_ they made me hatch.' He sighed.

'Maybe I should just start over, in case they will bring some of my stuff alive again by kidnapping me or the drawings. I guess I could really begin with a clean slate. Yes, that's it!' He leapt up, jumping up and down. 'Why not design my own superheroes? Or why not join forces with the Beetleborgs?' He clapped actively, but quickly eased down. 'Then again, they want to eliminate my characters. I hate to admit it, but I care about them. I don't want to see them defeated. Defeating them would be like… yes, defeating me. I'm onto something here! Man, this cell space is making me far more creative than those five feet of privacy in the tomb! Okay, so I don't want the Borgs to win, but I also don't really want my characters to win since well, they had it coming and they're being obnoxious. Maybe I should make a truce. I, the _artiste_! I could call that talentless brother of mine and just, find a resolution for this. Or maybe I can draw up something new. I just don't know. There's no way of winning this.'

That night Les hardly slept, constantly coming up with new plans. He designed technology to defeat both the Borgs and crustaceans, he designed villains to concur Nukus, he made new outfits, but all of the solutions led to new problems. And each one of them would keep the battle going.

'Maybe that's what supercomics are like in general. You need this Lex Luthor-Clark stuff to keep it going. You don't want either defeated. Our characters have found their nemeses, but honestly, without me they'll lose. They don't have monsters, weapons, nothing.'

'Could you shut up?!' the guard called out. 'It's four o clock, _night time_!'

Two hours later Les crawled back behind the drawing board, but he hardly drew anything worth while. He ended up tearing every shred of paper, just in case it would fall into the wrong hands. That afternoon he was startled by an awfully familiar voice.

'Cartoonist! Are you emerged in your drawings again?!'

Was that _Vilor_?! Oh no, please, that couldn't be right, they were going to kidnap him again. Les grabbed his pencil and held it before him like a sword. 'Stay away, I'm not coming with you. You three have gotten out of hand and you need to resolve things your own! You made it perfectly clear you could do finish things yourself, buzz off!' He waved the pencil in defence.

'I sort of left the others,' Vilor said meekly. 'I really want to defeat those brats and fast!'

'Yeah, and so do Nukus and Horribelle.'

'Not that much. They've grown soft, slightly depressed on top of that. And I'm starting to suspect they're _in love_ as well.'

'In love? Both of them, at the same time, where, what, which monsters? Oh god, or with the Borgs? Or is Horribelle still hung up over Mantix?!'

'No, uhm, in love with each other.'

'Oh.' He set down. 'Well, that's a relief then and, wait, what?!'

'It's not that obvious though. It's the small things, the touching and such. They hide it. They know it's weak for villains to feel that and that I'd hate them for it.'

'Did I miss something?'

'Well, you are always drawing pretty concentrated so some stuff might go by unnoticed then,' Vilor said. 'I think it started somewhere when she rebelled and he, -'

'He turned us into popsicles, don't get me started about that,' Les cried out. 'So unfair!'

'She was really sick afterwards, you remember that, right?'

'I was mostly in bed myself with a cold, or at least, bed. You made me sleep on the chair again, that tomb didn't even have beds. Prison really has better accommodation, you know. And that says something.'

'Yeah well, when you were mostly in your studio and not in the main tomb. I mean… Nukus felt pretty bad over the fact that Horribelle didn't wake up. Turns out that mantis women and ice are a bad combination.'

'So are humans and ice. But uh, please, continue. I'm surprised about this. I didn't design you three to care about others.'

'Coming to life also involves stuff you didn't design. Sleeping, for starters and other emotions. You live, you need energy. You think and feel things, you develop those abilities.'

'It's the same with actual humans, we have some sort of nature in us, but we become ourselves by experience. And since you are now _more_ than just characters, it's no wonder you actually flesh out. But still, it's impressive. You were just papery shreds and ink and just with the wave of a sword, almost like a magic wand, poof, you become something else altogether.' He giggled madly. 'It's a cool process!'

'Exactly. Uh, now, where was I? Oh yeah, so, Horribelle didn't wake up and he did everything he could. I was send to get blankets. And when I came back I remember he held her, very close, to keep her warm, and it was really freaky. I was startled. It was so…'

'Intimate?'

'Sort of. Not like anything I'd ever seen.'

'Like your parents suddenly hitting on each other! Man, that traumatized me for life,' Les pulled his hairs, reminded of more nasty childhood memories.

'Maybe it's similar, I wouldn't know. We are monsters, we don't have friends or family, we have allies. But maybe that's too black and white; apparently we also fall in love and start relationships. I mean, Nukus tried to keep her warm, cradling, rubbing, it felt misplaced. How could he portray all those emotions? So I left the blankets there and just went. He was upset I was late. I was at ease, didn't think she'd die or anything, everything seemed okay, but he was completely afraid he'd damaged her for good. And now he keeps nurturing her. Last battle even, she falls down, he picks her up. She's strong, but he's afraid to lose her again.'

'This is actually really touching,' Les said, blowing his nose. 'I mean, I never realized! But they dó make an excellent couple. It's also why he chose her, I half expected back then he had the hots for her. She flirted with him too. But you know, with the battles in the way, and us, I never thought it would've become something. Horribelle's sensual, it's in her nature, but Nukus wasn't made like that. He started of as a guardian, _overlord of the second dimension_ and so on.'

'And now he doesn't do guarding, he just awakens paper and guards other stuff, like her, for starters.'

'Irony,' said Les.

'Anyway, so that's also why I'm leaving - didn't tell them that, of course. I feel in the middle of something where I can't be, and now that you're not around. They push me. They wanted me out. I felt it. And I didn't mind. But I still want to defeat those brats, so, are you with me?'

'Uh, Vilor, might I remind you there's nothing I _can_ do?!' He gestured frantically at the drawing table. 'You know who brings these doodles to life? Nukus!'

'There must be something you can do? Help me, cartoonist!'

'I'm not quite sure how. Plus, I don't think it'll be easy to destroy them. The only thing I can think of is that we negotiate with Art.'

'I can get you out of here, we'll drop by at his place, kidnap him.'

'Yeah, and then bring him where? Here, to prison?! It's not that easy. We're part of a severely downsized evil apartment at the moment. I think we need to do things differently. Have a nice, little heart to heart between family members about how to resolve this, before it gets out of hand.'

'I don't want a heart to heart, _cartoonist_!'

'The creators need to end this!'

'No, we do, the _characters_! It was our battle all the time!'

'But you basically gave up to begin with!'

'Even so, if you won't join me, then I'll go to Hillhurst now and fight them. I'm going tomorrow night and it'll be final. You can meet me there. And if you want, brief them about it. Make them know who's coming: Vilor, and he's out to get some!'

Vilor disappeared. Was he going to train for his battle or just randomly pop up at the haunted house? The latter seemed more like him.

'What do I do know?' Les stared at his drawings. 'Vilor destroyed. Sure, I'm not as attached to him as I am to Nukus, but it's still a loss. He's learned so much. He actually seemed not quite as dumb as he used to. I have to phone Art! Guards, guards!' He rattled the prison bars.


	3. Takes Two

**T****akes Two **

Horribelle paced around the room. 'Still no plan, no ideas, no projects! What can we do aside from battling the borgs? Maybe Vilor is right, it's what we're supposed to do. What else is left? Where do we end up otherwise? No, where do we _start_?'

'Is that what we are supposed to do, attacking people, you think? What I'm supposed to do is _guard_. Just that. The whole battle thing was not my 'purpose' to begin with, if we keep discussing everything in those abstract human categories. Free will, as you said, that's what it all comes down to.'

He sat in his chair, pondering, sometimes covering his face with his hands. She leaned over.

'I'm worried about Vilor. I hate to admit it. The cartoonist I can do without, but Vilor, he was the closest thing to family I had. Like a little brother that you always pick on.'

'Am I not your family, then?' Nukus asked.

'No.'

'No?' He was silent for a few moments. His eyes moved from her to the table. Was he sad? Could Nukus actually be _sad_?

'You are planning to leave me too, aren't you?' he asked.

'No…' She touched the horn on his face playfully. 'You are not my family, but you are my best friend and…' She kissed his horn briefly. 'You are the closest thing to a lover that I can imagine.' He didn't know how to reply, and just stroked her chin as he sometimes did. Her fingers went down to his lips.

'I liked you better when you were still red, though,' she whispered. 'I'm kidding, I'm kidding!' He pulled her on his lap and they embraced. It was new, not like the time she woke up in his arms because she'd been out cold for a day. That was necessity. This was different.

She moved her lips closer to his, but backed away. 'Your horn is sort of… it's in the way.' She giggled, which made him laugh too. 'Let's see how we can find a better position. He leaned over and topped his head a bit. They fuzzed over the pose a bit until they finally managed to kiss. It was warm and cold at the same time. They realized how badly, and how long, they had actually wanted to do this, perhaps since they first met and realized the mutual attraction, but didn't play it out. And now that they were left with no one but each other, no one to interfere, things could finally unravel a little bit. Step by step, kiss by kiss. She pressed her lips at his cheeks and eventually his forehead. He stroked her back, grinned when she checked how pointy his horns actually were. They didn't speak of love, they acted on its behalf. And somewhere along the line they both felt it was all they had left now, and that notion left a bittersweet aftertaste. They spoiled each other with kisses and touches. Comfort. More intimacy was another thing altogether, their bodies weren't exactly compatible, and being this close was already awkward. That night they lingered in each other's arms, but she grew restless, got up, started to pace again.

'What if they kill him? They'll surely kill him. We're the ones who should harass him, not they.'

'He's a fool, stop worrying.'

'I can't. I don't know why. I've never been worried. Have I ever been worried, Nukus?'

'It seems new.'

'We usually just start another battle.'

'Exactly.'

'We need a solution. I want to go to Hillhurst.'

'Pardon?'

'I know it's stupid, but can't we side with the brats? Like that time when Vilor and Les made that obnoxious bouncing monster.'

'That kangaroo, don't remind me.' Nukus made a fist.

'That kangaroo is exactly what I'm thinking off right now. Please, let's just visit those borgs, tell them Vilor's coming, ask them not to kill him. If he dies, he's gone for good. No drawing, no nothing. He doesn't realize how foolish he is.'

'Vilor is driven, Horribelle, he wants it like this. Besides, I don't like to beg our enemies.'

'We have to help him! We can just reason with the borgs, I'm not talking begging here, just _reasoning_, maybe threatening them a bit. We owe Vilor at least this before they smash him with Roboborg.'

'We owe him nothing. And we don't owe Les anything either.'

'Perhaps you are right. All I suggest is, let's go to Hillhurst. We know they're good guys. They don't destroy people for no reason.'

'I don't want to see Vilor go down as much as you do, but talk to them? I'm not sure.'

'We've done a lot of stuff we didn't realize we could the last days. Personally, I'm ready to take this step too.'

Nukus remained silent for some time. The Crustaceans had never been exactly text book material on villains. They fled. They lost. They were clumsy, even. But talking to your enemies and suggesting cooperation on a matter was a whole different thing. Then again, it wasn't entirely new, as Horribelle had made clear.

'All right, but just because it worked out well the last time we cooperated. However, if they can't be reasoned with, we'll leave. Let's also make some back-up plans in case they don't want to work with us. I have some ideas already, but I have to give them some more thought.'

'Why, Nukus, are you holding out on me?' She giggled. He kissed her cheek and smiled enigmatically.


	4. Telephone

**Telephone **

'Hi, this is Les, your brother, you know.'

'Wow, Les, that's a surprise.'

'Yeah, well, I don't hand out surprises like Halloween candy. This is going to stay pretty unique, because frankly, I still hate your guts.'

'You are just jealous, brotherly rivalry, ah, such an interesting plot concept that I -'

'Could you shut up for once?! This is exactly why I hate you. You always reduce me to a character and fake_ artiste_ too! You're the reason I'm in jail and have delusions in the first place. Also, we can't talk long since I only have five minutes to phone here.'

'What can I do for you?'

'I want to talk about stuff, our characters, maybe meet up.'

'Seems like fun but you can't leave jail.'

'Uhm, actually it turns out that I can.'

'What?!'

'At least, my crime wasn't that horrible, I mean, assaulting your editor with a stapler is only a few months, I have extra months now, but that's because I escaped. I'll be free in about two. Anyway, I have visiting hours and then we can sit here in the hallway and discuss stuff. I want to arrange one. Fast.' Les squeezed the phone. 'We need to find a way to resolve this stuff between our characters. I don't want mine to end up dead now that they're finally getting the hang of living. And seriously, my characters are downplayed in our big collaboration at the moment.'

'Oh yeah, Flabber informed me, you lost the sword and coins, right?'

'I want us to start drawing and plotting. We need to finish this once and for all.'

'I'll meet you at jail then.'

'At four'ish, please. Make it fast because tonight Vilor is going to make a move on the borgs. Oh, don't tell them I just said that. Or wait. Maybe you should. Vilor insinuated that you should know.'

The guard forced the phone out of Les' hand. 'I didn't say goodbye yet!'

'See if I care,' the guard spat. Les pulled his hair in reply. At the other end of the line Art dialed Flabber. The Beetleborgs needed to be informed.


	5. Tea Time

**Tea time **

'Well, that's really interesting! But you know what, Les? Nukus and Horribelle just arrived to tell us the same thing. We're having tea and cookies! Are you coming over too?'

'No, I have another appointment,' the phone said. Flabber decided to put it on speaker so everyone could hear it.

'Oh, that's too bad, you can't make it?'

'I'm going to visit Les. I'm pretty suspicious of it, so maybe you could all keep an eye out? It wouldn't be the first time he tries to stab me with a pencil in jail. If I don't return, tell everyone I said hi.'

'He sounds just as queer as his brother,' Nukus remarked while adding some sugar to his tea. The monsters sat there quietly, inspecting their drinks as if Nukus could magically insert poison in them. Or perhaps throw the table at them when they least expected it.

'What, rewind?!' Flabber flabbered a videorecorder and pushed the rewind button. 'Going to see your brother in jail?! Did you two make up again? Oh, you're making stuff up again, together. Semantics, schmemantics! Oh yeah? That's Flabberific, talk to you later!' The tape recorder disappeared again.

'Okay, okay, this is getting confusing,' Mums remarked. 'Let's summarize. The kids are not here yet, but we called them and they're on their way. So they'll drop in and then we'll try to eat them again.'

'Uh-huh,' Frankenbeans nodded. 'Yum, yum.'

'That's right, Franky. Two of the Crustaceans are here and they sort of want to fight, but realize that they're severely downplayed and have no good means to battle the borgs. Right?'

'Where did you get that information? Of course we can defeat you easily, if we wanted to!' Nukus said, crushing his tea cup.

'It's just that we chose not to, for a while,' nodded Horribelle.

'My china!' Flabber called out, while he used magic to wipe up the remnants of the cup. Nukus didn't seem particularly interested in the broom in front of him.

'Now that we have that cleared up,' the count continued, 'that leaves the artists. We are currently in jail and also want to resolve something themselves.'

'Yes, and that 'something' frightens me. What will Art and Les do?' Horribelle said. 'We are at their mercy. If they develop other heroes or villains, what will become of us?'

'Let's not think to pessimistically now.' Flabber tried to cheer her up while giving Nukus a new cup. This seems awfully misplaced somehow and they all knew it. 'Art is a good guy, he doesn't destroy stuff. Besides, you can't easily be conquered to begin with, the Borgs battled you countless of times.'

'Ah, Flabber, are you giving a pep-talk to the Crustaceans?' the count asked.

'It would appear that way, yes!' Flabber said happily. 'I'm really good in keeping everyone positive and cheerful and enhancing the team spirit.'

'We're not a team, _buster_!' Little Ghoul cried out. 'They've tried to squash me with giants!'

'Well, you were siding with our enemies,' Nukus replied. 'It's not like we have a personal grudge against you.'

'And didn't you yourself want to side with us wants, just to stay safe in return for a coin?' asked Horribelle. 'You should know we are open to your suggestions and plans any time.'

'The mantis lady is kind of right,' mums said. 'But what do we do now?'

'Yes, and what kind of help do you two want?' Flabber asked.

'We're here for the children, to ask them not to hurt Vilor. At least not that much,' Nukus said. Horribelle silently nipped her tea and nodded.

'But you still want to _eat_ the children, just like we do, right?' the Count said. 'We're exactly alike!'

'Defeat, not eat,' said Nukus. 'All we want now is to negotiate with Flabber about the kids.'

They remained silent for a while, Frankie mumbled a bit, Wolfie licked his tea cup on the ground, Mums played with his bandages and the count tried to get crumbles out of his teeth. Little Ghoul was slowly becoming angry on her seat. 'That does it, losers! I'm going back to the basement, this is idiocy!'

'I'm sorry, Little Ghoul?' Flabber asked.

'How did we get wrapped up in all of this anyway?! I was just a little ghoul in the basement, minding my business, and suddenly everyone wants something from you! To talk and drink tea and why?! I just want peace!' She walked away in a hurry, then turned back. 'And where are Dragonborg and the others?! Aren't they also involved?! If we are going to finish this once and for all, shouldn't they be here too?!'

'Oh, somehow still has a crush, that's what this is about, isn't?' Flabber laughed.

'We haven't seen them since the mantrons got destroyed and that gigantic Roboborg appeared!'

'We didn't defeat them, if that's what you're suggesting,' Nukus said.

'I didn't _suggest_ anything,' snapped Little Ghoul.

The door bell went and the kids entered. Sometimes they pushed the bell, just to alarm Flabber they were there, in case those monsters would try to eat them again.

'Hi, Flabber,'

'It's pretty crowded here,' Jo remarked.

'You can sit on the couch next to Horribelle,' Flabber suggested happily.

'Uh,' she replied, afraid to be zapped by an offended Horribelle if she refused. She sat down at the couch, but didn't drop her guard. Also, her hand shaking constantly kind of gave away she was a bit scared. Especially when she trembled and in attempt to pick up the tea Flabber had poured in for her. 'G-g-g-good tea, Flabber!'

Roland and Drew opted for the extra chairs and uncomfortably looked around the room.

'So, you want a truce,' Drew said.

'Not so much a truce as a cooperation to stop Vilor.'

'With the footnote that he shouldn't be hurt, right?' Flabber remarked, mediating between the two parties. 'That shouldn't be that hard, right kids?'

'And he's on his way?'

'We're not quite sure when he'll arrive.'

'Oh, I forgot to tell you that, Art said that Les said it'll be tonight. So we still have some time to prepare and take it easy.'

'There isn't much to prepare if it's just Vilor,' Drew laughed. 'What's the deal anyway? Can't he turn mega anymore?'

'He's a bit impotent as of late,' Horribelle laughed.

'He seems a bit of a lame foe then, especially without you guys,' Roland said.

'That's exactly why we're here to ask you not to destroy him. He tends to take himself a bit too seriously,' Nukus elaborated.

Roland wanted to reply, but seeing Nukus on the mansion's flower couch with a cup in his hands was kind of hilarious. He had to do his best not to laugh and upset them. They were still a dangerous two-some, even with tea cups.

'That settles it then,' Flabber wrapped up. 'We'll stop Vilor together. But what worries me is what we do afterwards.'

'I want to finish this once and for all,' Nukus decided. 'We might need the cartoonists here.'

'If I'm correct they're discussing things in jail now,' Flabber said. 'I know it isn't right, seeing that Les is technical still a prisoner, but maybe I can Flabber them over here?'

'They'll notice he's gone then, and he'll get even more jail time,' Drew remarked. 'He won't like that at all and might take revenge by drawing something new and dangerous.'

'Hm, you got a point. We need someone to fill in for Les. I know! Wolfie, we'll disguise you as Les!'

'Wouldn't Count Fangula or Mums be a bit more realistic?' Jo asked.

'No, no! Wolfie will do just fine!' Flabber conjured him up a nice Charterville prison outfit. 'As long as he pretends to draw non-stop, it'll work out! I'll accompany him to the cell right away.'

'But then you leave us here with the monsters!' Roland called out. The count was already checking him out while eating a cookie from the jar. 'Please, we aren't tasty!'

'Don't worry, we'll protect you!' Horribelle said. That was an even more frightening thought.

'You're in good hands, I see! Well then, see you in a minute,' Flabber called out and poof, he was gone. There was an awkward silence again. The count innocently moved a bit closer to Jo and touched her tasty wrist as if it was a biscuit. Horribelle slapped his hand immediately.

'Now what did Flabber just say?'

'No touching?' The count asked sadly. Her skeptical, strict look reminded him of the time she tried to nurse him. It still caused him nightmares. Jo was actually relieved to be sitting next to Horribelle now and gave her a smile.


	6. Trash Can

**Trash can**

'There you go, Wolfie, all settled!'

'Wroof, wroo!' Wolfie nodded. He wore a wig which was exactly as tangled up and messy as Les' common hairdo.

'Excellent, striking resemblance! Just look at the table a lot and they won't notice your snout at all!'

Wolfie nodded and held the pencil in his paw. He tried to draw and failed immensely.

'Oh!' Flabber called out, while looking at the drawing. He held it in the light for a minute, analyzing it as if he were a true connoisseur. He even flabbered a looking glass to check the details.

'Abstract, I like it! Keep at it! Artistic progress begins by letting go of all conventions of reality as we know it! You go, Wolfie!'

Wolfie clawed at the paper and threw some paint on it.

'He's a natural born talent, that one, why didn't I see it before,' Flabber shook his head and Flabbered to the meeting hall. With a poof he appeared, dressed up as a guard. Les and Art sat at one table, vividly discussing and throwing around drawings.

'And suppose I make Nukus _ultra-ultra_, and you make the borgs _super-duper-spectra_?! Then neither will be able to beat the other and we're all happy,' Art called out.

'But that's no fun, that's the same position we're in now!' Les replied.

'Okay, then _you_ come up with a solution!'

'I don't know!' Les called out. 'We need different gear, different ideas, new _concepts_!'

'I'm sorry, you two, but you are coming with me,' Flabber commanded, while tipping his guard cap.

'Gee, that guard looks somewhat familiar and blue,' Les noticed.

'It's Flabber, dimwit,' Art hissed.

'Don't patronize me again, brother!' Les snapped.

'Shut it, you two, come one, we're going to the cell where we'll dematerialize without suspicion. Nukus and Horribelle apparently want to talk about, well, things. They're on the verge of being destroyed in this little story of ours, since they're left without weapons and monsters, and frankly, they don't feel like it.'

'Well, since we're already discussing similar matters here about the progression of this collaborative attempt,' Art said eloquently, 'we may as well join you and the others to improve this dialogue.'

Les and Art gathered all their drawings and left. 'Oh wait,' Les called out. 'On second thought!' He ran back and retrieved the ones he threw in the trash can too. 'They might come in handy. There are all kinds of concepts on these papers too.'

Art laughed. 'You were always the worst of us when it came down to _killing your darlings_.'

'I take it you're also implicitly referring to my efforts of keeping Nukus vivid now,' Les replied sarcastically. 'Snappy come-back, bro.'

On the way to the cell they came across another guard. 'Why isn't that Les Fortunes, I just went by his cell and he was in there.'

'Uh, yeah, he just had to uh, to take a leak,' Flabber said.

'He has a toilet on his cell, you know.'

'Oh, damnit, Les, you tricked me again!' Flabber gestured Les and Art to quickly come along before the guard would ask more questions.

'Damn newbie guards,' the real guard muttered. 'No common sense whatsoever.'


	7. Tit for Tat

**Tit for tat **

They materialized in Hillhurst again, where the monsters were still having tea. Little Ghoul had returned from the basement and was actually chatting with Horribelle.

'So that witch, you know, I decided to steal her wand!'

'Excellent, very smart move!'

'Not unlike the time you stole that axe from Nukus!'

'You heard about that?' Horribelle seemed pleased.

'What can I say, I have information!' Little Ghoul underlined. 'Say, also, can you maybe deliver me some new seeds once? I want to grow a new evil garden, I miss my plant Emily.'

'I think we can arrange that, even without the cartoonist,' Horribelle smiled diabolically.

'Super!'

Meanwhile the count was telling his life story to Nukus, who was a good listener altogether.

'Cookie?' Frankenbeans asked the new guests. Art happily accepted one, but Les refused.

'Geez, it's actually really cozy here,' Flabber said. 'I suspected to come back and find a burned out room and a battle outside.'

'The house monsters like the Crustaceans,' Drew told Flabber. 'They've been chatting nonstop. Man, it's like they're old friends.'

'I'm scared,' Roland said. 'We're in a room with our worst enemies and they're _socializing._'

Les skipped up to his Crustaceans. He squeezed himself between them on the couch and started to pet their knees. It was a pretty quirky moment.

'Nukus, Horribelle! No hard feelings, right? About me, leaving you without any monsters, ready to die in a small tomb? Oh, also!' He waved his hands a bit. 'Vilor told me the good news! I'm so excited about it and I want to wish you both good luck! You have my author's blessing!'

'Good news?' Horribelle hissed. 'What might that be, cartoonist?'

'Why, that you and Nukus are a couple, of course!'

Flabber dropped his jaw, Mums some of his band aid and Roland his tea cup.

'The china, can't anyone pay attention to the china!' Flabber immediately called out.

'Dating?' Jo repeated. 'Firstly, they're _monsters_. Also, they're _old_. Oh, and thirdly, _what_?!'

Horribelle bit her lip and didn't reply, so Nukus eventually decided to confirm the cartoonist' statement. 'I'm not quite sure how Vilor even knows this, since we're not even actually 'dating'. But he's right in his statement to some degree. We are, somewhat, more intimate, than we were before. One could label it as being a 'couple', I presume. Right, Horribelle? Are you upset I confirmed it?' She shook her head and reached out for his hand.

'Wow, you have a boyfriend!' Little Ghoul called out. 'That's so awesome! I mean, of course I want to date Dragonborg for a while, but he's so tall and wise! Horribelle, you can give me dating advice! None of these loser bachelor guys can provide me with any tips!'

Horribelle laughed. 'Well, I'm sure we can discuss that a bit later,' she said.

Little Ghoul seemed even more excited now.

'Let's add that to our list of surprises. Our worst enemies are dating,' Drew remarked. 'Little Ghoul and Horribelle are in the running to be Best Friends for Life. Art and Les are on somewhat good terms since they can stand in a room for two minutes without fighting. What more can we expect today?!'

'I'm severely confused and progressing information I didn't want to know,' Roland muttered.

Count Fangula got up to shake Horribelle's hand.

'You remember that time, missy,' the count started, 'when you called my _psychic hotline_?!'

'No, please don't tell me that was you, that psychic hotline!'

'And me,' Little Ghoul confessed eagerly. 'I helped out too! You liked that hotline?! _My idea_, he worked for me, basically! A bozo like him can never think of something that _cool_.'

'Little Ghoul, if you please. Now, Horribelle, as you remember I predicted romance for your future! And I was right! See everyone, see?! I have actual psychic powers after all! And I also knew I was going to quit that hotline to begin with! Vampires dó have an innate sense of fortune telling!'

Mums grabbed his wallet. 'Guess I owe you those twenty bucks after all.' Little Ghoul threw some buttons on the table, and Frankie got a ten dollar bill out of his head.

'Thank you, thank you!'

'It's great to see how you're turning our small happiness into prosperity already,' said Horribelle. 'And I'm not even being sarcastic here, it's pure evil.'

'Weren't we here to discuss business?' Art asked. 'I mean, this is a great discussion and shocking too, I never knew our characters could do this, date and such, but still, Vilor will be here tonight. We need a plan!'

And so they started discussing.


	8. Traps

**Traps**

Vilor hummed on his way to Hillhurst, all kinds of tunes, each one of them dissonant. The Crustaceans had stolen a radio a month ago and he'd grown accustomed to music as a way to kill time. His musical skills were unfortunately still very limited. 'Gonna defeat the Beetleborgs,' he sang. 'Defeat them, even if it's the last thing I do!'

Hillhurst already appeared on top of the hill, looking quite grim in the night, covered only in the most minimal amount of moonlight. Outside the Beetleborgs started to appear, already in their outfits, joined by none other than Horribelle and Nukus and what-do-you-know, the Fortune brothers. He felt pretty damn important, being awaited upon by so many people. Like a royalty, almost, it made him feel good about himself for once. He was being taken seriously, very seriously. If he wore a bow, he would've rearranged it now, instead he just quirkily moved his fin-arms. Apparently the surprise element of his attack was off, but that was also he'd planned carefully by informing Les.

'Well, well, it's my welcoming committee! Hello, ladies and gents!'

'Vilor, put a stop to this once and for all! We don't want to hurt you,' the golden Beetleborg shouted. 'You can still retreat now.'

'I don't think I will,' he said.

'Then we'll fight you,' the purple Beetleborg made a fist.

'And get this over with!' the silver one added.

They ran towards him while all the others stood near the mansion. The house monsters, the Crustaceans and the artists were thrilled to see how the small fight would develop. It wouldn't last long, they knew, so Mums was already handing out the popcorn. Frankie tried to tape the whole thing so that the imprisoned Wolfie could watch it afterwards, which was considerate, really.

'He's not doing so bad,' Nukus said, analyzing Vilor's moves.

'I wonder if our little and naïve trap which severely underestimated Vilor will work.' Art moved his glasses up and down over his nose, nervously.

Vilor made a few rapid moves toward the purple Beetleborg, managed to avoid the silver one and tackled the golden one, even.

'They really aren't doing their best, but they know they can't let him win, right? He already thinks he's the man as it is,' Horribelle said.

'They're just playing cat and mouse a bit,' Little Ghoul replied. 'Where's that popcorn by the way?! GIVE ME SOME, LOSERS!'

The fight was pretty standard until the Beetleborgs got a rope and tied up Vilor. 'We really, really don't want to hurt you!' the golden Borg said, 'so we're tying you up, see? It's a pretty lame plan, I know.'

'Well, then I hope you have several up your sleeve because I know I do!' Vilor dematerialized and popped up behind Horribelle. With his claws jugged around her neck he dragged her down the porch, up to the field.

'I have here one lady that really doesn't want to die. She likes fleeing from battle, hiding behind Nukus, and she's powerful. But what she fears is fading away, like back in the days when she was a page and couldn't think straight. What should I do with her? I know, maybe I can kill her! She has a very slender neck.'

'I'll dematerialize before you get the chance, you bastard!' Horribelle called out.

'Well, as we both know, transportation takes an average of two seconds, and with my sword already at your neck, ready to slice you, I don't think you have that much time.'

'You'll be caught off guard, you're an idiot, idiots can't kill someone. It's a rule!'

'No, Horribelle, that's not quite right! I was born an idiot. But I _lived_, like you and Nukus, and I gained some more wisdom while living. I'm your worst nightmare now.'

'This is unexpected,' Les remarked.

'I'll kill him,' Nukus whispered. 'I'll break his neck if he hurts her. No, I'll torture him first and then I'll break his neck.'

'Can I spoon his _eye sockets_?' Little Ghoul begged.

'We need a plan, we need a plan,' Les mumbled.

'Don't think I'm not keeping my eye on you, Meganukus,' Vilor called out from the field. 'One wrong move and she dies.'

'Don't listen to him! He would never kill me!' Horribelle cried out.

'No, no! Don't listen to _her_! I've had it up to here with both of you, and I don't mind a little bloodshed. We're all pseudo-fictional characters to begin with. I'd love to kill you and see what's left of your little 'character development' then!'

'I've never seen him like this,' Nukus spoke angrily. 'I know he means this. He's still a warrior within, ruthless, dumb, not afraid to make some victims. He's rebelled against both of us before, without much regret. He's stupid.'

'What do you want, Vilor?' the golden borg asked.

'Your Beetlebonders, please. Also, I want Nukus to bring some monsters to live so that I'm not all by myself.'

'What, but if we already give up our powers, there's no need for monsters,' the purple borg called out.

'You are right. Alright, just the Beetlebonders, then.'

'Okay, and after that, we'll trick him with our velocity and telekinesis,' whispered the golden borg. 'Just hand them over, then I'll immediately try to lift that sword while you, Roland, rush over to kick Vilor and take Horribelle out of there.'

'Plan!'

Vilor pressed his sword a bit closer to Horribelle's neck. 'It's interesting how little armour you have there, while the rest of you is covered in green metal. You're such a fool.'

The Beetleborgs handed over their communicators, transforming back. At that same moment, when Vilor looked at bonders, a lot happened at once. His sword was raised at random by force, Horribelle broke lose and punched him several times, and Roland rushed up, throwing the bonders back to the owners. Since Horribelle was quite upset and demanded blood, which made her perfectly capable of keeping Vilor occupied for some time, so the borgs could morph back. In their armours they ran to the Crustaceans.

'Who's the fool now?' Horribelle called out, kicking Vilor against his shins. Her axes materialized before he could hit her properly. He received a few lashings of her mantis weaponry. Few seconds later Nukus materialized, taking Vilor by force.

'That's it. You are disgusting, Vilor, there's no other word for it. I wish we had mocked you even more. Also, Horribelle, now that if I wasn't holding Vilor right now, I'd kiss you. Anyway, Vilor, You have really outdone yourself this time.'

'And he means that negatively,' Horribelle added, 'or ironical, even.' She moved her head sideways a few times to loosen her neck. 'And Nukus, thanks, darling!'

'Kneel, Vilor, and stay on the ground,' Nukus commanded. 'I don't plan to touch a filthy fish like you all day.'

'I have a great idea over here!' Les called out. 'In jail I also drew up a nice cage, it's foolproof. Let's make it really, really real and materialize it, so we don't have to pay attention to Vilor the entire time!'

'What's special about that cage?'

'Well, you can't magic out of it, for once, so no beetling out of it, no flabbering and no Crustacean transporting!'

'Sounds so perfect there's got to be a catch somewhere,' Nukus replied. 'Horribelle, Beetleborgs, keep an eye on him so I can materialize the object.'

Though everyone held his breath for several seconds, all went well. The cage fitted Vilor like a glove, albeit a small and dark one. With not a lot of room to properly breathing.

'Get me out of here! I want to battle, battle until death! Like a true warrior! Horribelle, Nukus! I'll never forgive you!'

'Who's asking who for forgiveness now?' Nukus asked.

Since Horribelle insisted on guarding Vilor's cage, they moved the meeting to the field. The Beetleborgs transformed back into their regular selves.

'What are we going to do with him?' Art asked. 'And I feel a bit bad, I mean, though this was exciting it wasn't an epic battle with Roboborg yet.'

'I've had enough epic battles with Roboborg myself,' Jo said.

'And the Astralborgs then?!' Little Ghoul cried out. 'What epic battle is complete without them?'

'Maybe, for good time's sake, we can have one last battle then,' Nukus suggested. 'Not until death though. More like a solid training, in case you make some new foes.'

'That sounds like a really cool plan,' said Roland, 'a final show-down once and for all with the Crustaceans! Sweet!'

'And yet another surprise,' Drew sighed, 'we fight the crustaceans _voluntarily_.'

'One final battle,' Horribelle nodded, 'just to get it out of our systems for good.'

'And I can't join in?! How lame is that?!' Vilor called from his jail.

'Shut up or you're going in the shredder,' Les snapped back.

'I actually kind of like this idea,' Art nodded. 'We can use all our resources, and you can have Les right here with you.'

'Oh, well, that's a help,' Horribelle said.

'Without me, no monsters,' Les remarked. 'So don't pester me!'

The Crustaceans laughed, and it wasn't even that mockingly.


	9. Triple Your Bet

**Triple your bet**

'All right then,' Flabber started, 'let's make this _Flabbericious_.' He morphed into a kind of circus master and cracked his whip. 'In the one corner we have Les and the Crustaceans. With their abilities they can bring drawings to life. And that's about it. Nukus is mega, which might be a benefit, but they have lost their ally Vilor.'

'I'm still here, you know,' Vilor remarked, while tapping the bars of his little cage.

'You make it sound like we're losing, which we are not.' Meganukus gave Horribelle a decisive nod. She knew what it meant: they were going to pull through with this and give it their best. She felt that good old battle rush again that she was definitely going to miss. If they weren't going to fight the borgs anymore, then how should they boost their skills later? Maybe, she thought now, she could still fight Nukus from time to time, just to stay in shape. That would do.

'And in the other corner, there's the Beetleborgs, Astralborgs and Roboborg. And the Astral sword, coins, axe and all of that gibberish, in short, very epic!'

'Psssst, Nukus,' Les started. 'I have a few tricks up my sleeve from jail. Here's a doodle I got from the _trashcan_. This sword can maybe defeat Roboborg if you manage to find his weak spot. It's just like in _Shadow of the Colossus_. Except that you have to stick this in his heel.'

'Traces of banana on it, I wonder if it'll turn out slightly misshapen,' Nukus stared at the paper and nodded. 'Let's find out.'

'Three, two,' Flabber started.

'Wait, wait! Since we're in an obvious disadvantage here,' Les interrupted, 'would it be okay if I throw some drawings at the ground already so we have at least some monsters?'

'Well, going by your overall excessive, tactical disadvantage,' Flabber morped into a lieutenant, 'I would say, go for it, _soldier_, and give it your best. There, yes, good, it's on the ground, spread those drawings a bit, _spread them_! Come on, I don't want six monsters in a row on the field! Ready, set, three, two, one, Flabber them!'

The monsters materialized, all of them scary hybrids with exceptional qualities. A hedgehog with canons; a cat-toad with poisonous tongue; something that sang songs; a bear-fox thing, and a woman. Yes, a woman. She had a snake like skin and little snakes for hair. But all in all she was quite… _sexy_.

'Hot damn, was that _sexy villain_ drawing in there too?!'

'My femininity was just shattered,' Horribelle looked at the other female angrily. 'Thank you, cartoonist, thank you!' She prepared herself for the purple Beetleborg that came at her.

'Wow, those boobs are a bit unnatural, aren't they, Les? Your anatomy was never your best skill when it came down to -'

'Shut up, ART!'

The fight started, it was crowded, nice and slightly more epic than the previous one. Flabber cheered everyone on while Mums and Fangs were dancing out on the porch.

'Go, Horribelle!' Little Ghoul yelled. 'Kick that Beetleborg where the sun don't – Yeah, that's excellent!' Frankie was still taping everything desperately for Wolfie, and because he'd grown tired of carrying the camera, he had placed it on top of his hat. It looked pretty bizarre, but he could now move his hands eagerly again.

'Horribelle, could you distract the silver -'

'Hopping to it!'

Les was drawing on the side lines of the field. The singing monster wasn't doing much good, except that everywhere flowers started to grow slowly. He made some new weapons. Nukus materialized some of them, but they weren't much help against the Beetleborgs. Especially not now that they morphed into their _Spectra state_, which was even more _mega_ than Meganukus.

'Catch,' Nukus cried out, throwing new axes towards Horribelle. She ran towards them, but the purple Beetleborg beat her to it. 'If you want them, come and get them!'

Meanwhile, the sexy villain was seducing the golden borg who wasn't even fighting anymore.

'What's that seductress doing?' Art cried out to Les.

'I'm not sure. She traps men like a spider in her web and I think she makes them commit suicide eventually.'

'Oh. What?!'

'Is there a way to defeat that tramp, Lester?' Flabber called out. 'I think Drew is already aiming his sword at himself…Yep, he is. That's gotta hurt. And that too. Wow!'

The silver Beetleborg came to his aid, but also got ensnared by the snake woman.

'As I always say, when you want a job done right, let a woman do it!' Horribelle said to Nukus, it had become a small catch phrase of theirs. She insisted on using it every time she beat him to something. He was afraid to tell her that after five times, such a remark is worn out. She seemed to like this one an awful lot and might take it very personally.

'Hello, Horribelle to purple Beetleborg. 'I'm using this awfully horrible motto of mine to give you a _hint_ that doesn't quite seem to come through. Woman. You. Go!'

'Oh!' And Jo ran off to give that villain a taste of her own medicine.

'Uhm, Horribelle,' Les started, 'if Jo's a lesbian or better yet, potential lesbian when she finally hits puberty and discovers sexuality, we have got ourselves a big problem.'

'She's ten! She can manage!'

'Being ten didn't prevent my sexy villain to ensnare those young boys, did it?'

'I hate you, Lester. And you're more of a perv than I'd imagined,' she hissed. 'The thought that you made us slowly starts to scare me.'

'It also explains a lot,' Les nodded.

The purple Beetleborg could luckily hit the sexy villain a few times and finally destroyed her altogether with help of the other two, who had awakened from their trance.

'Snake woman, totally, not sexy, help,' Roland muttered.

The battle went pretty fast from that moment on, until Les drew up a new big robot on the spot, that they materialized. The Beetleborgs called for Roboborg.

'I want the Astralborgs here too,' Les spat, 'let's see, if we put these drawings on top of each other we'll create such a goofy monster they'll have to call for help.'

'Good plan, cartoonist,' and Nukus immediately materialized the heap of doodles.

While the two robots were battling, the Beetleborgs called for the Astralborgs. It wasn't that necessary, but something that shoots flames ánd spits water at the same time can be considered a nasty foe.

'Dragonborg!' Little Ghoul bounced.

'Little Ghoul,' he waved.

'Marriage,' Little Ghoul muttered as a kind of unconscious conclusion, envisioning fantasies none of the male monsters would like to see. Sexy villain would've surely been no match for them. Little Ghoul let out a romantic sigh.

'Triple your bet, triple your bet,' Mums waved with a hat. 'If you think the Crustaceans will win, scribble it down here, and this is for the borgs.'

Frankie tossed in another coin, almost causing his camera to tumble in.

Meanwhile, at the battle field in front of the house, the hybrid-multiple-drawings-monster added gushes of water to Vilor's cage, and then some fire. It apparently did the trick because the bars melted and Vilor managed to break free.

'Finally, I'm free! I'll have my revenge on all of you!'

The Astralborgs, who were just fighting the hybrid monster, broadened their scope to Vilor. He was being punched back and fro like a sand bag. Eventually, Vilor decided to flee.

'I've just realized it. Dying is not fun. Being punched is not fun. I hate fighting.'

'What, you can't just flee?!' Dragonborg shouted.

'Watch me! I'm going to start a life outside of these stupid battles. I think I'll go live in a lake and frighten people, maybe the one right here in Charterville, and perform innocent monster actions at random. Or I'm going to do something else, oh, I know! Work as an artist myself at a freak show and beat the hell out of people like the Fortunes with my own special performance art! Now that's artistic! They love fish guys at freak shows, you know, the ones with fins between their toes and such. Wait till they get a load of me.'

'So what, after annoying the hell out of everyone and nearly killing Horribelle, you are just switching careers?' Nukus asked.

'Yes.'

'I hope you make very less money and at some point, feel a lot of guilt for what you put us through. We were basically family, you runt. And family doesn't kill each other.'

'Well, my crazy-psychopath-monster-mistake then,' said Vilor. 'I hope I'll never see you two again so I'll never have to apologize! Bye!'

'Wait, Vilor, would you really have…?!' Horribelle asked him, unable to pronounce _kill me_, or _slaughter me_, or _forced a knife down my throat_.

'Goodbye to you, too!'

'Runt is an understatement _pur sange_,' she hissed.

After that, the battle didn't continue much longer. The Astralborgs defeated the devious hybrid-multiple-drawings-monster and the Beetleborgs the rest of the bunch. Les didn't want to draw much more, because he felt slightly desperate after seeing so many of his one-minute creations being flushed down the drain. So they decided to wrap things up.

There was much rejoicing.

'Well, so everyone except for Little Ghoul gets dough,' Mums summarized. 'And, what?! Art?! You placed a bet on your brother's monsters!'

'I was trying to be nice! It seemed like a good way to make up with him. And he was always better in character development and exceptional skills than I was.'

'Now there's a confession for you,' Flabber laughed, clapping on Art's shoulder.


	10. Truth or Fiction

**Truth or fiction**

'It seems perfect,' Drew had to admit. 'Very perfect.'

'Art and I think so too,' Les confessed. 'It's actually nice to cooperate with someone. We should do that more, Art and I. He may be the best one in drawing, but you know, he admitted I was better in writing characters and developing them. So we'll be making comics together when I get out of jail. And we plan to brainstorm soon!'

'That sound nice,' Roland said enthusiastically.

'Maybe we'll drop by here some more, in Hillhurst, I mean, this environment is so inspiring,' Les announced. 'We could have some late night drawing sessions here, fun!'

'So when I meet Dragonborg again,' Little Ghoul and Horribelle discussed over a drink. 'I won't say I want to marry him.'

'Yes, yes, very good, you got that right, and what dó you say?'

'You are so handsome and pale, like you've been dashing in the moonlight!' Little Ghoul swooned. 'Brilliant!'

'Is Horribelle teaching you corny catch phrases again, Little Ghoul?' Jo asked.

'Yes. And I think they might work. Pick-up lines are in general very corny. She also thought me that.'

'As a recently solely paper character and mantis, exactly how many men have you managed to pick up?' Fang asked, interfering with the conversation constantly to the point where it was awfully nagging. He presumed his psychic hotline also meant that he had innate romantic savvy. He was thinking of starting a career as a dating advisor soon, even.

'Just one, and he's exactly my type,' Horribelle smiled, staring at Nukus who was at the end of the room, amused by Flabber.

'Okay, okay, everyone,' Les announced, climbing on top of the table, gesturing his hands. 'As some of you know, Art and I have news!'

'Not more unexpected news today,' nagged Drew.

'This is _super duper_ news, in fact. First let me start of with the _small_ news. Wolfie, come here, you!' He gestured at the werewolf. 'I want to thank you for filling in for me at jail and leaving an impressionistic field of drawings there, that is now posing as myself! You made the best of drawings and papier-mâché and even brought us a representational photograph to show your expertise. You learned a lot in a day. Here are some doggie snacks!' Wolfie hastily grabbed the bag and devoured the snacks.

'Okay, now the _big_ and_ actual_ news! Can I please get your attention? Nukus, Horribelle, we have a wonderful gift for you! And it's not doggie snacks, I can tell you that much! Could you come here please? Boy, this is exciting!'

'They get a gift!' Jo called out. 'And what about us?'

'Aside from bikes, Spectral suits and other stuff, you never get any gifts,' Art said to her. It made her feel a bit duped, being as young as she was. 'I'm joking, girl, joking! Anyway, Les, continue.'

'Okay, okay, gotta stay a bit cool here. Well, now that you are both near this supreme table – and I have managed not to stand on the delicious waffles that Little Ghoul made or on the cherry pie - let's see, drum roll, please. Thanks, Flabber! Right, I have a drawing here and it's going to blow your minds! I want you to bring it to life without seeing it. So it's in an envelope, wrapped, you can't see it!' He showed the envelope to everyone like a regular quiz master.

'Fascinating,' Horribelle said, taking the envelope and placing it carefully on the ground, as she had done many times before. 'You know, we never had a present from you before, cartoonist. I like it already. Thank you!'

Nukus pulled out his sword, hesitated and pulled it back.

'Horribelle, could you place a hand on it too? After all, it's our surprise.'

She swooned. After that whole I-want-to-be-mega-too affaire he understood how much she enjoyed being part of the fun. And in control.

'Why, I'd love to,' she whispered. She touched his hand more than the sword, lovingly squeezing it and moving a bit closer to him. Though they'd both grown used to awakening drawings with the sword, this time it was awfully erotic. The sword started to gleam, twinkle, yes, even _sparkle_. Out of the envelope a small object came forth.

'Go ahead, pick it up, see what it is!' Les called out.

They both stared at it, while Nukus finally took it from the floor. 'A key.'

'A key! Yes! And not just Any Key!'

'What kind of a key is it?! The suspense is killing me!' Flabber shouted.

'It's a super special key to the second dimension. Nukus, now as you may recall, you are officially _overlord of the second dimension_, right?'

'That's true.'

'And you both want to have something to do aside from battling the borgs, right?'

'Also true.'

'The key guards a door somewhere in the land that you have brought to life as well, because that was on the other drawing in the envelope! The door is very mysterious but through it, this portal, the second dimension is connected with ours!'

'Fascinating,' Nukus said sincerely, beholding the key and then giving it to Horribelle.

'I want you to find the door and guard it, as you are meant to do. I wouldn't enter it myself yet, and certainly not with Horribelle by your side.' Horribelle frowned.

'You, as the overlord, can transfer from paper to matter, but she can't, so who knows what'll happen. She can't resurrect a drawing, that's your job, you mediate between these worlds. However, you cán go in there yourself, but only do so if it's absolutely necessary. We're not quite sure what you'll find there ourselves, so it's all pretty spooky.'

'Exciting, isn't it!' Art clapped his hands.

'Adventurous,' Horribelle summarized.

'Now I don't want to force you into this. It's a gift. It's your life, you have made that perfectly clear. You have become more than paper. You are actual characters with your own consciousness, free will and traits. I made you from a kind of sketch, but you made each other. Just like your name, Horribelle, was a dialogue between me and Nukus, so you have learned through each other. Sometimes the hard way, but mostly through honesty and loyalty. I'm sure you'll both do well. You were made for each other, literally. You chose her out of a field of drawings, and you chose to serve him when the cause was noble in your opinion.'

'Man, that speech is very good, Les!' Flabber sobbed in his tissue.

'I know, right?! I didn't even know I could properly speak in public, let alone this. But now that I'm excited and had cherry pie, I can do anything. What was the main line here again? Oh yes, do you two accept?!'

Nukus looked at Horribelle for approval. 'I'd love to join you on this little mission,' she whispered. 'Do whatever you think is right.'

He pressed her hand, in which she still held the key and leaned over to kiss her.

'Is that a yes?' Les frowned.

'That's definitely a yes,' Nukus replied. 'But, I don't want to keep the key myself. I already have my resurrection sword amongst others. Horribelle, I want you to keep the key. It'll be just as safe with you as with me, perhaps even safer.'

'I'd happily accept. There's a convenient necklace on it already. Would you do the honours?' She smiled as he opened the necklace, placed it over her shoulders and locked it again. It was a beautiful gesture.

'Also, there's another little trinket Art and I drew, this one is also for the both of you. Nukus, for you it's mostly in case you want to go back into your non-mega form. Horribelle, if you still want to find out what your mega is like, here's your chance. Man, are we spoiling you or what? And after months of painful harassing in a tomb, even! But we get along fine now! Anyway, mega-forms, so you mediate between them with this device. It's nice. You morph if you ever need to battle, but if you're mostly travelling, you normal form might be more comfortable. I still find it a bit odd that Vilor could shift back to the non-mega, I wonder what caused that. But without further adieu, here's a new version of the mega-device!'

'Very convenient,' said Nukus, obviously pleased. 'This megaform is a bit out fashioned, don't you think?'

'I meant it yesterday when I said you were better looking before,' Horribelle said. 'Accept that device and_ please _morph back.'

'It would be my pleasure.' He resurrected the device and pulled the switch.

'Red is your colour, definitely,' Mums complimented.

The monsters put on some interesting music, and there was a bit of celebrating before the Crusteceans left and made their goodbyes.

'Well, then we'll be off,' Nukus said. 'Thank you, cartoonist.'

'And thank you, Nukus. This was certainly a surprising turn of affairs.'

'But a positive one,' Art added. 'We've all learned a lot of good things!'

'And without killing our darlings,' Les laughed. He even seemed slightly sane now. 'And with some proper meds, I can get back into business too.'

'Yup, and I'll make sure you take those meds this time.'

Horribelle and Nukus made way for the door. 'When we have found the door, we'll report back to Hillhurst. Do we have any leads?'

'There's a map here, but it's very eclectically drawn by Art, let's see, and the key works as a compass, it should point the way if you put it in your hand palm a bit. Just let it rest. Like that, yeah, see, now it says north.'

'Les, thanks again,' Horribelle hugged him for a few seconds.

'You have really, really fleshed out you,' he laughed. 'Hugging?'

'Just to thank you and just this once,' she smiled. Then she leaned over to Little Ghoul. 'Good luck, girl!'

'Good luck to you too!'

Nukus shook hands with Flabber and Drew on his own initiative.

'I really can't take anymore surprises,' Drew decided. 'When I get home, I just want to the new issue of Beetleborgs and some coco.'

'I have the new issue here,' Art waved with it. 'Would that ease your soul a bit?'

'Definitely,' and the other kids laughed too.

It wasn't a sad goodbye, after all, they'd been enemies for so long part of them was relieved to see them go. But it felt oddly melancholic for each person standing at the porch waving, especially for Little Ghoul, who never went outside, and now ran a bit over the lawn. Or for Les, who ended up crying really, really loud and ate a lot of cherry pie to comfort himself.

'You know what. We can make new villains,' Les suggested. 'And we can think of a whole second dimension. We have so much work to do!'

'I think Nukus and Horribelle should be canon in the comic too,' Art felt inspired now.

'What, as characters that are now not in it, or in the other way?'

'Also as a canon couple, yes.'

'Sweet, dude,' Les beamed.

The kids read the latest issue near the fire place that evening and got home really late. Jo and Drew were grounded and didn't get to go to Hillhurst for a week, but it was 'totally worth it'. Les and Art joined sides and had many artistic arguments to follow, but critics now say that Beetleborgs had improved immensely since Les wrote the scripts. The Beetleborgs themselves would surely make new foes in real life too, but for now, they're on a hiatus and enjoying it. Mind you, the monsters still want to eat them and Flabber still has to prevent them from doing so. And somewhere in the house, Little Ghoul is still dying to use her corny pick-up lines on Dragonborg. Some things never change.

**The End**


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